Chris Houren: Game economy

Each massively multiplayer online game has its own unique little economy within the game. And most have real-world values on them, even if the developers would love nothing more than to crush that.

Chris Houren

Each massively multiplayer online game has its own unique little economy within the game. And most have real-world values on them, even if the developers would love nothing more than to crush that.

First, let's talk a little about gold farmers. These are the people that have jobs in which they play games to gather either game currency or items they will then sell to various players for real-world cash.

These people have been known to drive auction houses that reside inside game worlds. They set prices so people are more likely to buy their gold, and in turn, they can afford the items sold on those auction houses.

Most MMOs have rules against such actions, as they feel it hurts the in-game community and decreases the amount of time players must spend to gain certain items. Some games are more serious about this than others, with some banning and suspending offenders.

But the No. 1 thing they've done to hamper the gold farmers is to put in place either "Bound" or "No Drop" items into their games.

Then you have games or simulators that not only allow the real-world currency to enter the game economy but encourage it. Games including "Second Life" give players intellectual rights to things they create within their game. Those players then sell them for game currency, which they can use to buy land, or even sell it back to the developers for real-world money.

Any way you look at it, the virtual economies are starting to make real impacts on our real-world economy. Hundreds of thousands of people make their living selling virtual property.

But I feel that the people buying these are missing the true experience of the game. In "Second Life," there is great fun to be had by creating items as well as buying other people's items. In "Age of Conan," you could just buy gold to acquire a lot of the stuff you want.

My advice to any new gamer getting into an MMO is to avoid the real-world economy. At the end of the day, you will be happy you saved your hundred dollars, plus you'll have the memories of actually earning that long-sought after-game loot.

Chris Houren can be reached at lclads@shighway.com. This column is written for the Linn County Leader and focuses on technology, gaming and geek culture.